Sean McDermott, defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, could be interviewed soon by the Browns for their vacant head coaching job, according to a report.
The Panthers were eliminated from the postseason on Sunday by the San Francisco 49ers.
Jason La Canfora of CBS sports was the first to report the Browns are interested in McDermott. He also said the Browns remain interested in Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase and Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, but La Canfora speculated both coaches might choose to stay where they are — Malzahn because he is content as head coach at one of the top college programs in the country and Gase because a year from now, after another year in Denver working with Peyton Manning, he could be the assistant coach most in demand.
On average, six coaches are fired every year.
Gase, 35, was one of the first coaches the Browns asked for permission to interview the day after Rob Chudzinski was fired on Dec. 29, but he politely declined, saying he wanted to concentrate on getting the Broncos’ offense ready for their divisional playoff game. He also turned down an interview request by the Vikings.
Denver was on a bye as the AFC’s No. 1 seed at the time Gase told the Browns and Vikings he wanted to focus on the task at hand.
The Broncos are in the AFC championship Jan. 19 against the Patriots after beating the Chargers on Sunday. If Denver wins that game, Gase might wait until after the Super Bowl on Feb. 2 to interview — and maybe not even then.
“If it comes down to it, where I actually do get a chance to interview for it — I wouldn’t interview if I didn’t think I was ready for that role,” Gase told reporters recently. “But right now I have to focus on what we’re doing for the playoffs, and it’s a one-game elimination tournament and I have to make sure my role is prepared for.”
Seven head coaches were fired after the 2013 season. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner were the first to swing the ax when they fired Chudzinski after going 4-12 his first season.
The Texans (Bill O’Brien), Buccaneers (Lovie Smith) and Redskins (Jay Gruden) have replaced, respectively, Gary Kubiak, Greg Schiano and Mike Shanahan.
The Lions, Vikings, Titans and Browns are hunting for their head coaches.
Ken Whisenhunt, offensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers, interviewed with the Lions, Titans and Browns at the end of last week, according to reports. He is free to take a head-coaching job now that the Chargers were eliminated by the Broncos, 24-17. Whisenhunt is the favorite to take the Lions’ job.
The Browns have reportedly also interviewed Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
The Browns have not confirmed or announced any coaching interviews. The only interview that was confirmed was with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and that confirmation came from McDaniels, who four days later withdrew his name from consideration.
Meanwhile, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said candidates have been calling Chudzinski to get feedback from him.
“He’s been honest with them,” Rapoport said. “When you talk to people involved in these interviews, it doesn’t sound like Banner, Lombardi and Haslam have all been on the same page.”
The Browns are in no rush. They apparently would rather wait for the coach they prefer if they can persuade him to take over a team that is on a streak of six seasons with at least 11 losses and one that doesn’t have an established starting quarterback. Teams that wait to hire a head coach, though, often miss out on the top assistant coaches.
Ron Rivera was named head coach of the Panthers on Jan. 11, 2011, and six days later hired McDermott, 39, as his defensive coordinator.
The Panthers were 28th in team defense in 2011. They improved to 10th in 2012 and were second in 2013.
McDermott has worked his way up the coaching ladder. He broke into the NFL as the Eagles defensive assistant/quality control coach in 2001 and was promoted to assistant defensive backs coach in 2003. He was named secondary coach in 2004 and in 2007 was named the Eagles linebackers coach when Steve Spagnuolo was promoted to defensive coordinator.
McDermott moved back to the secondary in 2008 and was named the Eagles defensive coordinator in 2009. He held the position for two years before being by the Panthers a year later.